Cigarette holders



United States Patent CIGARETTE HOLDERS Jose Mazar Barnett, Buenos Aires, Argentina Application August 18, 1953, Serial No. 374,898

4 Claims. (Cl. 131-207) The present invention relates to a cigar or cigarette holder of unique construction which is provided with a long and particularly effective smoke filtration path for reducing or eliminating toxic effects caused by cigar or cigarette smoke.

According to the invention, there is provided a cigar or cigarette holder comprising an elongated tube having at one extremity an entrance opening for a cigar or cigarette and at the opposite extremity a reduced smoke outlet opening, the said tube being substantially completely filled with granular filtering material which is in contact with the tube, and wherein a frusto-conical or funnelshaped hollow cap is disposed in the entrance opening extremity of the tube inwardly of the extreme end thereof with its smaller end in axial alignment with the smoke outlet opening and surrounded by filtering material, the larger end of the hollow cap being in contact with and held in position by the tube and being of substantially the same size as the inside tube diameter, and the construction and arrangement being such that the granular filtering material is held in a confined condition and forms a long filtering path for smoke.

A cigar or cigarette holder embodying the invention is very inexpensive and can be discarded after use with a relatively small number of cigarettes such as after each pack of cigarettes. My new holder also has the advantage that an exceptionally long and effective filtration of smoke is achieved and the holder is made in one piece of any suitable material so that it can be made very inexpensively. A further advantage of my new holder is that it is unusually clean and hygienic, and the long body of filtering material absorbs and adsorbs both volatile and non-volatile materials generated or released by the burning tobacco.

In the accompanying drawing,

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section of the tube of the holder showing the hollow cap ready for insertion;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of my new holder in readiness for use, and

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken at right angles to Fig. 2 and showing a cigarette in position in the hollow cap.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the holder tube a, which may be made of plastic or any other suitable material, has an entrance opening 1 for a cigar or cigarette 2, and at the opposite extremity a reduced smoke outlet opening 3 disposed centrally of the closure 4, which serves as a mouthpiece. The tube a is elongated and has a cavity 5 of very substantial size, the tube wall being relatively thin as compared to the size of the cavity, so that the holder is capable of housing a comparatively large supply of granular filtering material shown diagrammatically at 6. Filtering material 6 is made up of granular particles having no coherence with one another so that smoke has a long passage therethrough without being impeded and percolates through the free spaces between the grains.

The entrance opening 1 of tube a is adapted to receive I 2,748,777 Patented June 5, 1956 a hollow cap 12. This cap is constructed in generally frusto-conical or funnel shape and has a cylindrical portion 8 which merges into a tapering or tunnel portionterminating in a single opening 7, which, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, is disposed axially of the tube a in alignment with the opening 3 at the mouthpiece end of the tube.

Cylindrical portion 8 of hollow cap b is of substantially the same size as the inside tube diameter and is provided with a plurality of spaced peripheral teeth 9 projecting toward the entrance end of the tube and constituting slightly angular extensions of the cap so that, when the cap is inserted into the tube in the position shown in Fig. 2, the teeth 9 bite into the tube and prevent displacement of the cap, and at the same time cap b acts to confine the filtering material 6 between the tapering portion thereof and the closure 4, so that the granules of filtering material do not tend to pass out of the tube, these granules of filtering material being of such size that they are retained in confined position and have no tendency to pass either through the opening 3 or the opening 7, and this effect is obtained and enhanced by the fact that the filtering granules surround the smaller or tapering end of hollow cap b which cap, in its position of use, as shown in Fig. 2, is disposed inwardly of the entrance end of the tube.

It will thus be understood and appreciated that an unusually long and effective filtering path for smoke is provided and that the absorbent and adsorbent nature of the granular filtering material prevents toxic or other deleterious components of the smoke from reaching the smokers mouth.

From Fig. 3, it will be observed that a cigarette or cigar 2 is introduced into the entrance end of tube a through the opening 1 until it abuts against surfaces of hollow cap b and that, when the cigar or cigarette is lighted and smoked, the smoke passes through the single opening 7 of the hollow cap I) and travels axially of the holder toward opening 3, so that the smoke is thus canalized toward the tube smoke outlet opening. It will further be noted that the opening 7 is spaced away from the wall of the tube so that there is no appreciable tendency for smoke to come in contact with the tube wall, particularly since the suction applied during smoking pulls the smoke from opening 7 directly toward opening 3 through the entire length of the filtering material.

The simplicity of my new cigar or cigarette holder and the economies possible in production enable the holder to be discarded after the smoking of a relatively few cigarettes, such as those of a single pack of cigarettes, and may desirably be furnished with each pack of cigarettes. Due to its construction, the holder requires no cleaning, and the one-piece construction of the tube requires no assembly or disassembly, as is the case when tubes are made in more than one part or in tubes intended for protracted use while changing the filter from time to time.

Within the terms of the appended claims, various modifications of detail and structure may be made without departing from the scope or principles of the invention.

I claim:

1. A cigar or cigarette-holder comprising an elongated tube having at one extremity an entrance opening for a cigar or cigarette and at the opposite extremity a reduced smoke outlet opening, a body of granular filtering material substantially completely filling the tube and in contact with the tube and a funnel-shaped hollow cap disposed in the entrance opening extremity of the tube inwardly of the extreme end thereof with its smaller end in axial alignment with the outlet opening and surrounded by filtering material and its larger end held in position by the tube and being of substantially the same size as the inside tube diameter, the granular filtering material being held in confined condition by said funnel-shaped hollow cap and forming a long filtering path for smoke.

2. A cigar or cigarette-holder according to claim 1, in which the larger end of the funnel-shaper hollow cap is provided with a plurality of spaced peripheral teeth projecting toward the entrance opening of the tube and forming slightly angular extensions of said cap biting into said tube.

3. A cigar or cigarette holder according to claim 2, in which the larger end of the funnel-shaped hollow cap is cylindrical to form a surface bearing against the tube, the remainder of the cap being frusto-conical and canalizing smoke toward the tube smoke outlet opening 4. A cigar or cigarette-holder according to claim 3, in which the granules of filtering material are of sufficient size to prevent their passage out of the tube.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNiTED STATES PATENTS Assmari June 30, 1903 Rajf Oct. 21, 1919 DeBary Mar. 14, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain 1903 Switzerland Aug. 1, 1940 Great Britain Mar. 1, 1934 Italy Dec. 29, 1947 Great Britain Mar. 31, 1949 

